The police in Kwakwatsi in the Free State (FS) have managed to unmask the masked r@pist who terrorised the community for 18-years. The terror of the masked r@pist began in September 2008 when a 15-year old mentally impaired girl reported to her grandmother that while she was walking around in Kwakwatsi ,Koppies town, in the Free State an unknown masked male grabbed her and took her to an open field where he r@ped her.
The granny reported the incident to Koppies police and a case of r@pe was opened for further investigation. The second incident happened in September 2012 when a 13-year-old girl, who was at home taking a nap, was allegedly r@ped by an unknown masked man who broke into her home. The victim reported the matter to her sister and a case of r@pe and house breaking was opened for further investigation but no one was arrested. The third incident happened in July 2013, when a 61-year-old victim was asleep at her place heard someone breaking into her house and went to investigate. The old woman found an unknown male wearing a mask and a scuffle ensued but the suspect overpowered and r@ped her and then fled the scene. The masked suspect was unknown and cases of house breaking and r@pe were opened. In the same year in 2013 in December, a 46-year-old woman arrived at home in Kwakwatsi and she was @ttacked by an unknown male wearing a mask. Free State Saps spokesperson Sergeant Mahlomola Kareli the suspect pushed her into the house and repeatedly r@ped her overnight at knife point.
Kareli said that Teboho Isaac Mnculwane was traced and arrested by Tumahole Family v!olence, child protection and sexu@l offenses unit after the members received information on his whereabouts. “After the arrest of every suspect for cases falling under schedule 8 (M-rder, attempted m-rder, r@pe, attempted r@pe, statutory r@pe, kidnapping, robbery, house breaking) buccal swabs, finger prints and an image of the suspect are taken to a lab to ascertain the identity of the suspect and for analysis to also ensure that the suspect is not a wanted person in any other case.
“Teboho Isaac Mnculwane, was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment back in 2016 for the r@pe of 46-year-old victim. All these Koppies cases were placed as undetected pending DNA results as samples or evidence were collected by the Local Criminal Record Centre members who attended the scenes. The analysis of the results and matching of found evidence is done by the Forensic Science Laboratory specialists at a Lab in Pretoria,” said Kareli. In 2017 after analysis was conducted and reports made ready, all three r@pe cases were reopened after a positive DNA confirmation led the investigator Warrant Officer Sophie Kgayane to Groenpunt Correctional Centre where Mnculwane aged (38) was serving 18 years for rape. Serial R@pist Electronic Crime Investigation took the cases for confirmation, and all three cases were placed back in the court roll, and the trial started. Detective Warrant Officer Sophie Kgayane presented the case to Mnculwane. Mnculwane was found guilty on 18 April 2024 on three r@pe charges and was sentenced to two life imprisonment for the first two r@pe cases. He was further sentenced to 15-years imprisonment for the third r@pe and six years for house breaking.
Source Zimoja
